The Chaos Wars: part IV
by Subieko
Summary: The Millennium Puzzle has been lost...or has it? The evil spirit of the Ring has stolen it, and to get it back, Yuugi must travel to a hazardous World...one that doesn't want company.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: here it is at last--the fourth section of the Chaos Wars! This section will be more action/adventure/quest type stuff than the last...a lot more characters, and the canon cast will return. I hope everyone will enjoy it, and I will try to update in some semblance of a timely manner! Ehehehe...oh, and a note: Ryou Bakura (the owner of the Millennium Ring) appears in this chapter. The spirit inside the ring is referred to as Ryou. The guy who owns the ring is called Bakura. I realize that those aren't the right names, based on either the original Japanese or the dub. I have used these names ON PURPOSE, so it isn't a mistake. There is a plot-related reason, which won't be revealed in this section, but IS important for the next one. Just wanted to avoid any confusion there...oh, and in case anyone doesn't member who High Queen Tethys and Salriss are...we met them briefly back in section one. Basically, Tethys is Queen of Dark World's oceans, and Salriss owes Joey and Tristan a favor. That's all you really need to know about them at this point.

Anyway, on with the show!

Prologue

It was not silent.

That's what people thought about the ocean--that it was full of silent mystery. But that had never been true. It was filled with the whispers of the past...and the ghosts of the present. The sea had a voice, a voice that could be as loud as thunder and as soft as candle light. But it was a voice that never ceased. The sea was with, always, and they defended her with their lives.

Deep below the waves, down where the light never came, past all knowledge and memory of the land dwellers, High Queen Tethys was holding court. A strange thing had come to pass...and what they chose to do about it might affect all their people. The Sea Folk must gather to discuss it.

"Please present your report, Sir Barruch," the Queen said calmly, gesturing to one of her knights. He had been the one who had discovered it, out on patrol some weeks ago.

"I was patrolling near the Border, my Queen," Barruch said, facing the assembly. His tail fin beat the water gently, keeping him stable in the current. "There has been much activity in the Above of late, in that region, and so I had gone to take a look. No one had defiled our lands, and I was turning for home, when something struck the water above me."

He held up a golden object, suspended from a chain. It was pyramid-shaped, and emblazoned on it was a stylized eye.

"This fell into the waters and sank down to me. I brought it back to you, my Queen, because I did not know what to make of it."

Another of the Sea Folk stepped forward. He looked like an immense serpent, his mouth filled with rows of teeth as deadly as they were elegant. He was one of Her Majesty's chief wizards. "I have examined this strange object. It is magical, powerfully magical, and it does not come from this World. And it is old, so old it makes even I feel young..."

The wizard was quite ancient, and a master of his craft, but even he couldn't force the Millennium Puzzle to reveal its secrets. The Millennium Items obeyed only their masters, and were wayward in other hands.

"Whence did this thing come?" the Queen asked, reclining on her throne. It was truly a stand of coral, blood-red, still growing.

"There is one present who says he has some knowledge of it," said Barruch. "Salriss--come forth."

Another sea serpent undulated forward, stopping before the throne and inclining his great head. "Your majesty, the scent of this magic is familiar to me. There were two others who had it, though not so strongly. They came from a far world, very far...I was lost and helpless, and they sent me home. They called themselves by strange names. I cannot speak them in our tongue, but in their language it sounded like 'Joo-ee' and 'Triz-dan'. I am in their debt."

Queen Tethys was silent as she contemplated the matter. The gathered Sea Folk were also silent, awaiting her decision.

At last she arose from the throne. "I decree that these kind travelers deserve our aid. We shall send this thing back to their World--it is known to me of old."

"Your Majesty...will this draw us into the war?" asked one of her advisors.

Queen Tethys shrugged. "It may well. But it is high time that we stood against the Overlord, rather than ignored the plight of the land dwellers. I neither trust them nor like them, but they are needed for our World to continue. Let it be done as I have said!"

Her people bowed low and filed out. The meeting was adjourned, but Queen Tethys remained on her throne, deep in thought.

"It may be," she said softly, "That this is the end of our days--the end of our people. But if there needs must be an end...I would have that end be in fighting against the Overlord. And so we shall!"

Out in the deeps, meanwhile, Barruch was supervising as one of the wizards preformed his task. "There," he said. "It's done. We may send it now."

Barruch gave the large fish a push, and it swam off. Within it a golden treasure was hidden...waiting to be discovered.

Waiting to come home.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Hey, Mack--look at this beauty! I've never seen one of such a size!"

Mack put down the nets he was mending and crossed the boat to see his partner's prize. His pipe dropped to the deck as his jaw dropped open. "Cor--what a fish! It's...it's enormous!"

"Let's get this home to market, we'll get a fine price, this thing could make twice as many fillets as any of our others..."

They sent the little boat home with a roar of the engine, eager to sell their wares. The docks were busy when Mack and Jake tied up their boat and set out their catch, and soon they had plenty of customers. They hadn't cut open the monstrous fish yet--it was excellent advertising. They wouldn't sell it until towards the end.

Business was good that day. Surely, the fish was a sign of some divine blessing...something from beyond the world.

It _was_ from beyond the World, but not in any way they could ever have imagined.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Ryou stalked the streets, a low growl of annoyance coming from his tightly closed mouth. He was angry. _Very_ angry. Of course, this was fairly normal for him. Ryou, the spirit of the Millennium Ring, had a very narrow range of moods. He could be angry, furious, angry, enraged, angry, smug, angry, plotting, angry, power-hungry, angry, insane, and angry.

In case it isn't clear yet, Ryou was a fairly angry person.

But most people who knew him would have been shocked to hear it. They thought their friend Bakura was kind and shy and smart, and probably couldn't even summon enough anger to shoo a cat. Of course, they didn't know about Ryou. As far as Yuugi and his friends knew, the Millennium Ring had been thrown deep into the forests of Maximillian Pegasus' castle, and Bakura was free of its influence.

Ryou smirked to himself as he remembered this. The fools. It was no easy task to separate a Millennium Item from its true owner...and it was no easy task to stop Ryou from doing whatever he damn well pleased.

A grimace crossed Ryou's face. Right now, the people who were chiefly in his way were...Yuugi and his cadre of friends. The damned pharoa who should rightfully have been dead several millennia ago. They hadn't managed to stop him from gaining the Millennium Eye, but he wanted _all_ of the Items, and the Puzzle was certainly on stop of the list.

The smell of sea air shook Ryou from his reverie. Brushing back the long white hair that was continually getting in his eyes--he really needed a hair cut, or a scrunchy, or _something_--he glanced around in boredom. He hadn't really been meaning to come here; Ryou had decided to take a walk to clear his head. And now all he could do was walk all the way back...

Ryou's head snapped up as he looked around in shock. The Millennium Ring was glowing, although it was visible only to him. It was pointing...it had found an Item, nearby...!

Was it one of Yuugi's little posse? Or someone else, some yet unknown Item bearer? Ryou's mind raced with the possibilities as he ran along the docks, searching for the source of the power.

He stopped. And stared. He had found it--the Ring was pointing straight to it. It was...it was...

It was a fish.

Ryou's memories of his ancient past were, admittedly, a little fuzzy. But he was absolutely certain there was no Millennium Fish.

"Ah, now what can I get for you, young man?"

Ryou glanced up from the fish and saw a weathered-looking man in a bloodstained apron looking at him. Of course--he was selling his catch. Ryou looked down at the fish again. As ridiculous as it seemed, the Millennium Ring never lied...

"I'd like that one, please," Ryou said in a perfect imitation of sweet, gentle Bakura's voice. _He's such a pansy_, Ryou thought, carefully keeping Bakura from hearing it too. _He's lucky he has me in the first place, or the world would just walk all over him._

"Right you are, sir!" the man said happily. Ryou paid a great deal more than he thought reasonable for the fish, and he hurried home, lugging the fish along with him in a plastic bag. It couldn't be...but it must be. He would know for sure soon enough. He _had_ to know for sure.

Bakura's father was away on one of his trips again, so Ryou had the house to himself. Well, technically to himself and Bakura, but it might as well be just Ryou. Ryou hurried inside and plopped the heavy fish down on the counter by the sink. He pulled a fillet knife out of the drawer and set to work cutting the fish open. His hands were soon covered in smelly fish guts, but Ryou didn't care in the least. It wasn't like it was _his_ body he was making a mess of.

With a soft _chink_ something fell to the floor. Even being covered in fish guts couldn't diminish its brilliant golden luster. On its side was a stylized eye.

The Millennium Puzzle.

Ryou didn't know how it had gotten inside a fish, nor did he care. All that mattered to him was that at last, at _last_, it was his! The Puzzle was his, as he had rightfully deserved all along! Millennia of waiting, endless frustrations and setbacks, so many fruitless plans, and now at last...!

Ryou threw back his head and laughed until the empty house rang with it. Somewhere within the Millennium Ring, Bakura--the true owner of the body he and Ryou now shared--heard him, and shivered.


	2. Showdown

Author's Note: Here I am again, with chapter 1! Er...about the duel at the end...yes, I admit, I didn't write the game out at all. But it wasn't really central to the plot, and I didn't want to make the chapter just drag on and on. So...hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1: Showdown

Yuugi was awakened by an irritating ray of sunlight falling on his face. Putting his arm up to shield his eyes, Yuugi tried to summon the energy to actually get up. He was still recovering from the injuries he had suffered at the Chaos Fortress in Dark World, although he had been back for a few weeks.

Vice had used some healing magic on him, so he was recovering reasonably well. Yuugi hoped that the others had made it out safely, wherever they had ended up--none of the slaves had any way to contact each other now. He could only trust that the keen survival skills which had kept them alive for so long would help them make a new life in their new Worlds.

Joey, Tea, and Tristan had been overjoyed to see him, and had of course asked him what had happened. Yuugi had told them...mostly. It _was_ the truth--just an edited version. Yuugi was in no mood to go into any of the details of what had happened. He hadn't broken the worst news to them yet--the loss of the Millennium Puzzle.

Yuugi had been dead certain that he wouldn't make it out alive. It was a fair assumption to make when Lieutenant Gash was standing over you with a sword. But Scat had gotten the gating devices in the nick of time...and so throwing the Millennium Puzzle into the ocean had been completely unnecessary. Even if Gash had killed him, Yuugi wondered, exactly what good would it have done for the Puzzle to be lost at sea? But all Yuugi had been able to think was that he didn't want Yami to remain a captive of the Chaos Army.

Of course, now the Puzzle was presumably rusting under several miles of water, if it rusted. And Yuugi had absolutely no way to get it back.

But it would do no good to just stay in bed all day. He had to get up. Yuugi forced himself to stand, wincing; his arm was still a bit of a mess, as was his back. Vice had said that although the wounds would heal soon enough, the scars would probably never fade. Just one more conspicuous thing Yuugi had no way to explain...it was nearly as bad as the scar he had on his throat. Now _that_ was difficult to explain--he couldn't very well tell people he had had his throat slit once.

"Maybe I'll go visit Joey...see what everyone's up to." The first week of summer vacation was upon them, and Yuugi and his friends all had plenty of free time. Except for the random traveling to other universes, of course.

Yuugi pulled on his coat and went down the stairs, going slowly. There was much less pain going down the steps today--more like an irritating twinge than the paralyzing fire from a few days ago. Vice had said something like this, that Guardians healed quickly. His explanation of _why_ that happened had been a little bit over all of their heads, but that didn't matter. The important thing was that it worked.

"I'll be back later, Grandpa," Yuugi said, grabbing his backpack and shutting the front door behind him.

Solomon looked up just in time to see the door shut. He sighed, shook his head, and went back to wiping the counter tops. "There he goes again. At least this time he's not going to vanish to some other universe..."

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Dammit...why isn't this working!?" Ryou yanked at his white hair so hard Bakura was afraid he would pull it out. And it was _his_ hair that would suffer, not Ryou's.

_Stop it--stop it! That hurts!_ he cried out soundlessly. But it was no use--Bakura doubted Ryou could even hear him at this point. No one could.

Ordinarily Ryou would have at least noticed his host body's distress, but at the moment he had other things on his mind. Namely, the Millennium Puzzle. Ryou began to pace the room, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. He glowered at poor, defenseless inanimate objects. He slammed his fists against the door. He went to the kitchen, yanked a few dinner plates out of the draws, and threw them as hard as he could against the wall.

"Ahh...that feels _much_ better," Ryou said with a satisfied sigh. He sat back down at the table, eyeing the Puzzle. He had been trying for several hours now to access the thing's magic, or get any reaction at all from it. At this point, Ryou would have been happy to have it blow up, just to break up the monotony.

"Oh this is useless," Ryou muttered, shoving the Puzzle away. "What's wrong here...?"

Ryou leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, letting his thoughts drift freely. He was sure the answer was there somewhere, just on the tip of his tongue...he just had to let it come to him...

It was like a light had switched on in his brain. Ryou sat up suddenly, his hands slamming into the table.

Yuugi.

He was the problem, of course--he was the current owner of the Millennium Puzzle, and it obeyed him, not Ryou. That had been the whole point of Pegasus' tournament. Pegasus could only have used the Puzzle if he won it from Yuugi in a duel. Ryou was now faced with the same problem. He was shocked that it hadn't occurred to him before--hadn't he done the same thing to get Pegasus' Millennium Eye? He had gotten ahead of himself in his excitement at finding the Puzzle in so unlikely a manner (but obviously this was just fate telling him he really _was_ the rightful owner of the Items).

"All right," Ryou muttered, his eyes narrowing with a sinister gleam. "Time to find little Yuugi..."

Ryou grabbed Bakura's Duel Monsters deck and stalked out of the house, slamming the door behind him for good measure.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Yuugi walked down the street at a leisurely pace, enjoying the summer weather. It was nice to be outside in his own World again, not worrying about hiding from anyone, not being hunted...he sighed, remembering when things had been like this all the time. But already those days felt like another lifetime.

"Hey--Yuugi!"

Yuugi looked up to see his friend Bakura running over to him, waving frantically. "Oh, good," he said when he reached Yuugi, panting, "I thought I might not catch you, I wasn't sure if you'd heard me..."

"What's up, Bakura?" Yuugi asked.

Bakura shrugged. "Oh...not much. I was just out for a walk and I saw you, so I thought I'd say hello. My dad's away again, so there's not much for me to do..."

"I was just going to see Joey and the gang," Yuugi said. "Want to come along?" It was true that Bakura's presence would make it difficult to discuss the group's other-Worldly adventures, but it would be nice for them to get together in some normal fashion for once.

"Sure!" Bakura said cheerfully, and the two continued down the street together.

Ryou resisted the urge to smirk. Kind-hearted saps like Yuugi and his friends were so easy to manipulate...as soon as he and Yuugi were somewhere out of sight, he could challenge the little brat to a Shadow Game and claim the Puzzle once and for all!

His opportunity came soon enough. "Let's take this shortcut," Ryou suggested, gesturing to the park. "It's faster than going all the way around."

Yuugi nodded. "Yeah...we might as well." They passed through the gates and entered the wooded portion of the park. Picking their way through the trees, they made slow but steady progress toward the other side, close to Joey's house.

Ryou couldn't resist a smirk this time. Almost time...almost time...ah! They had come upon a picnic area, and the small clearing would be perfect.

"Hey, Yuugi?"

"What is it, Ryou?" Yuugi asked, turning around.

"I challenge you to a shadow game!"

"What!?" Yuugi cried in shock, watching as the world around them flickered and grew dim. They were between their own dimension and the Shadow Realm...a risky place at the best of times. But without the Millennium Puzzle, Yuugi had no shadow magic at all. He didn't know what would happen to someone without shadow magic inside the Shadow Realm, but hopefully since they were only on the border it wouldn't be too dire...

"Bakura, what are you doing?"

Ryou grinned darkly as the Millennium Ring appeared on his chest. "Bakura's not here right now. But in the meantime, I'll be glad to keep you company. Now take out your cards and let's start this!"

"But--Tristan threw the Ring away!"

Ryou snorted. "You really thought you could keep it from me? That was just an illusion. The fool fell for it, and so did the rest of you. And now I really do suggest we get started...at least, if you want _this_ back," he said, holding up the Millennium Puzzle.

"The Millennium Puzzle!?"

"That's right, Yuugi--it's mine now! I have no idea why you put it inside a fish, but that was your mistake! And now I--"

"A fish?" Yuugi said. "Oh...that makes sense!" _Someone in Dark World sent it...maybe Benjamin or Vice was involved..._

"Stop interrupting me!" Ryou said. "The Puzzle will obey me only if I win it in a duel...and so here we are." He took out his deck of Duel Monsters cards and began shuffling them. "Now why don't we begin?" he said, laying his cards down on the picnic table.

Yuugi sat down across from him, shuffling his own deck. Was it even possible for him to play a Shadow Game? But then again, Yami and Ryou had played Shadow Games with non-Item holders before. They had hardly any Shadow Magic...maybe Yuugi could manage it.

No--he _would_ manage it. There was no backing down now.

"You're on, Ryou!"

They cut each other's cards and drew their hands. The battle was about to begin...

-o-o-o-o-o-

_I'm not sure how much longer I can hang on..._

Yuugi was growing more and more exhausted. He had no shadow magic to power his cards; instead, they were forced to draw strength from his own life-force. This was a fairly common magical technique in the Multiverse, and it worked well enough, but there was only so long Yuugi could keep it up. If the duel went on much longer...

Yuugi's monsters were as worried as he was. He could feel their fear and guilt; they thought they were killing him. In a sense, they were, but it wasn't their fault. They didn't believe that, though, not even when Yuugi told them.

Although Yuugi didn't know it, Ryou was just as worried as he was. His reasons were, of course, completely different.

_Dammit...I'm losing! Losing to this brat! And the pharao's not even helping him this time!_

Ryou had no idea that Yami was actually not a very good duelist. Three thousand years ago, the rules of the game had been completely different, and Yami knew almost nothing about the cards and their various individual abilities and limitations. What he did know was strategy, and what he had was an almost unlimited--and occasionally unwarrented--confidence in his own abilities. That alone was enough to psych out most opponents. It was Yuugi's knowledge of the game that allowed Yami to play at all. He had what was effectively an immense library of information at his disposal.

Ryou was practically sweating by now. He had to win, but he couldn't beat Yuugi at Duel Monsters. If Ryou had known that Yuugi was one of the Shadow World's guardians, he might have been less surprised; Yuugi was as good at games as Yami was with shadow magic. The two reigning aspects of their World...

_All right, I can't win the game. What else can I do?_

Then Ryou remembered something--a trick of Pegasus'. He hated to borrow ideas from someone so weak, but still...Pegasus had gotten one thing right: a normal person couldn't last long in the Shadow Realm. So if Ryou used his shadow powers to tap out Yuugi's strength...

But his own powers might not be enough when added to both the strain of maintaining his cards, the energy required to maintain the shadow game itself, and of course the power he put into keeping Bakura under control. He needed more power, but there was no way to get some...unless...

He was still holding the Millennium Puzzle, a store of vast amounts of shadow magic, the most powerful of the Millennium Items. He might not be able to wield it yet, but he could probably figure out a way to draw some power from it--he wouldn't need much.

"Heh...this is the end, Yuugi--I'm about to seal your fate!" Ryou cried, holding up the Puzzle and focusing his magic on it.

Inside the Puzzle, Yami's mind stirred. The Chaos troops had sealed the Puzzle's magic while they were studying it, considering it potentially dangerous, but now he was free...or he should have been. The shadow game was interfereing, however. But not for nothing was Yami the other guardian of the Shadow World. He threw all of his power into resisting Ryou.

Yuugi could only watch as the two spirits fought each other for control. He knew that Yami had much more power than Ryou, so he wasn't overly worried. Ryou didn't have a chance of gaining any amount of control over the Puzzle. Even if he won the duel, Yuugi had his doubts as to whether the Puzzle would be forced to obey him.

The Puzzle was growing hot under Ryou's hands as they pushed more and more magic into it. It was now glowing brightly, nearly blinding Ryou. But he hung on with all his might--there was no way he would lose to the pharaoh.

A tiny crack appeared in the Puzzle's surface, but Ryou was too preoccupied to notice. A faint but piercing whine became audible, like a machine close to blowing a circuit.

"I--will--not--lose!" Ryou said, gritting his teeth. He gave one last push.

There was a blinding flash of light, and a shockwave threw both Yuugi and Ryou to the ground.

The Puzzle shattered.

"NO!" the two cried at once.

Yuugi and Ryou abruptly reappeared in the park, the shadow game ended by the force of the magical shockwave. Ryou looked dumbfounded. He had been so close...then he realized that this probably meant that Yuugi had regained the Puzzle, and he therefore needed to make a quick escape. Ryou vanished through the trees, heading for Bakura's house.

Yuugi, meanwhile, was frantically searching for the pieces of the Puzzle. He found only one, lying forlornly in the grass.

"But--there's nowhere for them to go!" he cried, running his hands over the ground in the hope that he had somehow missed seeing the pieces. Yuugi knew it was futile in the back of his mind, but he couldn't help checking over and over again. Finally, he had to admit the truth--the pieces were gone, and he had no idea to where.

Then Yuugi had an idea. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and quieted his mind. He should be able to hear the faint echo of his mental link with Yami, even with the Puzzle broken.

Silence.

This could mean only one thing, Yuugi realized. If the Puzzle had been anywhere in the Shadow World, even the Shadow Realm itself, that link would have been there, however weak it was. Somehow...the Puzzle was in another World.

And Yuugi had no idea which one.


	3. Departures

Author's Note: Whoa...this took longer to finish than I thought. It was a tricky chapter, though...had to set up the plot and all that. (laughs) Hopefully this chapter won't confusing--it jumps around with a lot of different characters. All will be made clear soon enough, so if you have no idea what's going on, don't worry--that's exactly how the story is supposed to be right now! ...yeah, I'm gonna shut up before I dig my grave any deeper. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 2: Departures

Yuugi was only at a loss for a moment after realizing that the Millennium Puzzle was lost _again_. Then, an idea struck him. He didn't know where to search for the Puzzle himself; he needed advice. And as it so happened, he knew someone who owed him a favor...

_"Yuugi...thank you."_

_"For what, Ko?"_

_"I was Lost even while I was within my own World...maybe I never really knew who I was. But...now that I know that I don't know, there's a chance that I can find out. For this, I am grateful. Someday, when you are alone and in need of help, call me by my name and I will come to aid you. This is my oath; I swear I shall fulfill it."_

Yuugi wasn't sure if Ko could help him with this, but at least it was a start. "Ko," he called into the air, feeling a little silly. At least no one was around. "Ko, I need your help!"

Far away--or perhaps close by; time and space did not matter there--something stirred. A vast mind, ruler of an empty realm, guardian of those who could not know that they were guarded. The Eye of the Void...the Master of the Lost.

_Who calls...?_

"It is him," Ko said. "The one called Yuugi--the one who saved me. You said that you knew him..."

_Ah...ah...it is him. He calls...he calls for aid. Go, bring him here._

"Isn't that dangerous?" Ko asked.

_He will be safe. The one knows who he is now...and he will never forget it again._

Ko nodded, and left.

"Yuugi...come on. We have to go."

Yuugi spun around and saw Ko standing behind him. "Ko--you came! Thank you so much, I--"

"There's no time," Ko said. "Let's go!" He reached out and grabbed Yuugi's hand.

The world vanished.

Or at least that was how it felt to Yuugi. He opened his eyes slowly and got to his feet. Before was the nebulous void of the Realm of the Lost. But this region of it wasn't so empty--the Eye of the Void was here. Yuugi was careful not to look into it this time. He knew from painful experience that anyone who looked directly at the Eye of the Master of the Lost suffered strange and unpredictable consequences.

_What is your need, One?_

"Er...you can just call me Yuugi. And I'm...well, I'm looking for something," Yuugi said, feeling terribly awkward.

_And you may call me..._ The Master paused. What could anyone call him? The Lost had no name for him, that was certain.

"Would it be okay if I called you Sir? I mean...you're obviously very old, so you deserve respect..."

_If you wish_, the Master said. _Now...how did this thing become lost?_

Yuugi explained the duel with Ryou in brief, not wanting to go into the complicated details of the Shadow Realm and Duel Monsters and ancient Egypt at the moment. He was in too much of a hurry for such a long story, and after all the story really was over three thousand years long. The Master was most interested in the end--the explosion, as it were.

_This thing was scattered in the Outside..._

"The outside of what?" Yuugi asked.

_It is the Outside. The only Outside._ The Master wasn't sure how to explain it. He understood the basic concept of the Multiverse's composition, but a detailed explanation was difficult. He had little practice in such things.

"My brother told me about that," Ko said softy. "It's almost a legend, really...but...they say that any time you go between Worlds, you don't go straight from one to the other. Instead, you pass through something else...the Outside. The...the...I don't know how to explain it. I never really understood it in the first place."

Yuugi nodded slowly. "So...so it's all of the space that's _not_ the Worlds?"

"I guess so," Ko said, shrugging.

_It is that which is not_, the Master said. _The Worlds are that which is._

"So how do I get there?" Yuugi asked at once.

_No_, the Master said. _You need not go there. Things are lost there, but they cannot stay there. Instead, they fall into nearby Worlds..._

"But that means the Puzzle pieces could be in tons of different Worlds!"

_No_, the Master said again. _I...I remember it, nearly. Long ago, there was a World known as the Found. Things lost between Worlds fell into that World...and I am sure it still exists. It has a different name now. I shall give that name to you._

"...thank you so much," Yuugi said, smiling now. "I...thanks," he finally said again, unable to fully explain just how important this had been, and just how much they had done for him. But it didn't matter. The Master and Ko understood him anyway.

"Hurry, Yuugi," Ko said. "This thing is precious, right? So the longer it's lost, the more likely someone will take it. You must go right away."

Yuugi nodded, his eyes burning with determination. He thanked the two once more and then departed, with Ko's help.

Back in the Shadow World, Yuugi woke up lying in the grass. Ko was nowhere to be seen. Yuugi got up and ran for home as fast as he could.

"Grandpa!" he said as he burst through the door. "I've got to go to another World again, I don't know for how long, but don't be worried I'll be fine!"

Yuugi raced up the stairs to gather everything he would need, with Solomon trailing after him, stunned. "Wait--you _what_?"

"I have to go to another World to find something," Yuugi said as he threw things in his backpack. In a few minutes, he was ready. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"But--Yuugi, you can't just go running off to another World!"

"Why not?" Yuugi asked. "It's the start of summer vacation, no one will notice."

"That's not the problem," Solomon replied. "It's just...you keep vanishing like this, and I never know what's happening to you. How can I know you'll be safe? That you'll back at all? If something happened to you, if you needed help, no one would know where to find you."

"...I know, grandpa. But...I have to do this," Yuugi said sadly. Then he thought of something. "Oh--here. I'll write down the gate coordinates for you...then you'll know where I am. If I don't come back, the gang will be able to reach me, they have a gater."

"But..."

"I have to go, grandpa. I can't explain it, but it's important. You have to trust me--please."

The two stood in silence for a moment, facing each other. Then Solomon sighed. "If you say you have to do this, I believe you. Just...be careful, Yuugi."

Yuugi nodded, smiling. "I'm always careful, grandpa!"

"Then be more careful than usual," Solomon said dryly.

Yuugi blushed. "Er...I'll try?" He took out his gating device and prepared to activate it.

"Meow."

Yuugi looked down as Alleybones, his cat, jumped onto his desk. She watched him very intently, and Yuugi had the strange feeling that she wanted him to notice something. She batted a paw at one of his desk drawers, meowing.

Mystified, Yuugi opened the draw and took out a small wooden box. Opening it, he suddenly realized what was in it--this was where he had stored the Key of Aramas, an ancient artifact that Yuugi and his friends had found after a long and difficult search.

"Alleybones, this is the Key. What am I supposed to do with this?"

Alleybones just nudged Yuugi's hand and watched him intently.

"All right, all right," Yuugi said, half-laughing. "I'll take it. Happy now?"  
To his surprise, Alleybones nodded and jumped down, probably off to go eat something. Yuugi wasn't sure what that might mean, but he had no time to ponder it. Shoving the key in his pocket, Yuugi activated the gating device and vanished.

-o-o-o-o-o-

A few minutes later, Solomon heard the bell jingle as someone came into the shop. Looking up from his position behind the counter, he saw Joey, Tea, and Tristan walk in.

"Hiya, gramps! Where's Yuugi?" Joey said, waving genially.

Solomon didn't know what to say.

"Is something wrong?" Tea asked, frowning. "Grandpa...where _is_ Yuugi?"

"He's...gone."  
"What do you mean, gone?"

"He went to another World," Solomon said. "He went to another World, and he didn't tell me why. He just said it was important."

"What World!?" Joey said, slamming his hands on the counter. "C'mon, gramps--we gotta help him!"

Solomon took a deep breath. Yuugi would be better off if his friends were there to help him...but could Solomon really drag them into a potentially--make that probably--dangerous situation?

"Please, grandpa," Tea said, biting her lip. "We have to find him--he could be in danger!"

Looking into their eyes, Solomon realized that it wasn't his choice at all. They wouldn't give up until he told them how to get wherever Yuugi was. None of them would ever let the others go into danger alone...

Solomon handed over the paper Yuugi had written the gate coordinates on. Joey grabbed it and was about to punch them into his gating device when Tea grabbed his arm.

"Wait--what about Kaiba?"

"What about him?" Joey said.

"Shouldn't he come with us?"

Tristan snorted. "Even if he would agree to come with us, why would we want him to?"

"Because he can help us--he has magic too, strong magic! We might need him!"

"No way!" Joey said.

"No...she's right," Tristan said. "As much as I hate to say it...we need his help."

Joey sighed, but he followed his friends out the door and down the street.

They would find Kaiba. And when they did, they would _make_ him come with them if they had to.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"No."

"But we really need your help! Please, Kaiba, just this once, can't you--"  
"_No_."

Tea sighed. She had known all along that this would be a difficult sell, if they were successful at all. She had never met anyone as stubborn as Kaiba. He had listened to their story with a distinctly bored expression on his face, and had subsequently refused point-blank to have anything to do with it.

"Dammit, Kaiba, you're just askin' to have your scrawny face smashed in!"

"Joey, calm down!" Tristan said, grabbing his friend's arm. "That's not gonna do us any good!"

Kaiba just smirked. "Will you three clowns get out? I have work to do."

"What's going on, big brother?"

Mokuba walked into Seto's office and boosted himself onto his brother's desk chair. He looked curiously at Tea, Joey, and Tristan, who were all glaring at his brother. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Right now, they're annoying me," Seto said sourly.

Tea shot him a dirty look and turned to Mokuba. "We came to ask your brother for help--"

"To beg at my doorstep--" Kaiba interrupted.

"Finding our friend Yuugi," Tea continued more loudly, "because he went to another World and we think he may be in danger."

"Yuugi's in trouble?" Mokuba said, his eyes wide. "Seto, you've gotta help them!"

"What!?"

Mokuba hopped off the chair and ran over to stand next to his brother. "Yuugi's helped us out so many times--he's our friend! There's no way they can do this without you, big brother!"

"Wait a second," Joey said. "We can do it just fine without him!"

Tristan elbowed him in the ribs. "Shut up, man!" he muttered to Joey.

"You heard the mutt," Seto said. "They don't need me."

Mokuba shook his head, fists clenched in fierce devotion. "Of course they need you, Seto! You're the best duelist ever, and you can always figure out a plan. I _know_ you guys will find Yuugi and you'll all be okay as long as you're with them, big brother."

Seto took a deep breath, grimacing. He couldn't refuse those eyes... "...fine. I'll do it. Happy now?"

Mokuba nodded, beaming. Tea gave Joey and Tristan the thumbs-up. "We did it!" she whispered.

"Great," Joey muttered. "Just great."

Tea pulled the gating device out of her pocket. "All right--the coordinates are in. Ready?"

The other three nodded. They all clasped hands, and Tea activated the device.

There was a flash of light, and they were gone.

Alone in the office, Mokuba nodded in satisfaction. "Soon they'll find Yuugi, and do whatever it is they were gonna do, and then they'll come home."

With this reassurance, he dashed off to find his friends and start enjoying the beginning of summer vacation.

-o-o-o-o-o-

It was cold without the suns.

Vice should have been pleased--Darklings were creatures of the night. He was stronger in the darkness, his vision better, his body felt light and easy. The sun beat down on a Darkling like a hammer on a nail, and all too often, the nail bent.

But now Vice wished he could have seen even one of the five suns of Thraael. It was a world with no night, and darkness was abhorrent to it. But darkness reigned now, as it had for far too long.

"How did it get like this?" Matt said, looking up at the overcast skies. They were always so thickly shrouded in smog that the light of the suns couldn't get through.

Vice shrugged. There was no time to tell Matt of the coming of outWorlders, the introduction of new and more efficient farming methods, the rise of industry...the rise of the factories. It had happened in plenty of Worlds, and in plenty of Worlds it had been successful enough. But here no one had ever demanded that the factories become cleaner, healthier, less damaging. Here no one had ever protested pollution. Here no one had demanded laws against child labor, unsafe conditions, long hours.

No one had cared much about the smog at first. What did it matter if there was some grit in the air? It was all to the good. But when the sky is a littler grayer one day, and just a little grayer after that, over and over again...

People don't notice a tree growing. Oh, when it first sprouts they see it shoot right up. But as the years pass, it seems to them that the tree is always the same height. When they realize it has grown larger, it is a surprise. The growth was too slow for them to notice.

It seemed to Vice that smog could be like that too.

"So what's the plan?" Matt asked, jolting Vice out of his thoughts. Vice had asked Matt to accompany him on this mission. They were trying to stop one of the Overlord's agents from destroying Thraael.

"In Thraael, this desert is known as the Heart of Light. In the center, they say there is a great jewel, massive--the Sunstone. Supposedly it contains the essence of the sun, which continues to give Thraael light in spite of the condition of the atmosphere. They're not far wrong--there is a jewel in this desert, of a kind unique to Thraael, that absorbed light from the suns for centuries...it's been radiating that light for a long time."

"But it won't last much longer?" Matt guessed.

Vice nodded. "They're going to destroy it." He smiled bitterly. "We tried to stop them from taking this World long ago. My _arochi_ Kaltan and I...we fought a great battle here. But in the end, it was for nothing...this is a last stand. If we fail now, they have won."

Matt gripped Vice's shoulder, his face set. "Then we won't fail."

Through the shimmering waves of heat that rose from the sands, they saw a massive structure. The Temple of the Sun...it had been built in some past age to house the Sunstone. The gem was visible within it; it was an open structure, more like a great stone garden than a true building.

Before it rose a strange and massive figure. It towered up, over even Matt's head, seven, eight, who knew how many feet. It was impossible to describe its shape; it changed every moment. The thing seemed to be made of some substance as black as tar and as flowing as honey. A smell that was simultaneously sickly sweet and rancid came from it, and everything it touched began to rot and decay. Where it had come from, neither Matt nor Vice knew. If it had a name, it told no one; if it had a home, it never went there.

"That's him," Vice said. "He must not touch the Sunstone."

Matt and Vice ran forward, already drawing weapons. Vice's knives flashed in the light of the Sunstone, Matt's armor materialized around him. The thing turned. It had no face that either of them could recognize, but it apparently could see them well enough. Or smell them. Sense them.

Whatever, Matt thought. It didn't matter--they would stop it.

The thing didn't even try to move as Vice flung his hands out and his knives plunged into its body. They began to crumble at once, consumed in a few minutes by the rest of decades. Matt fired from his armor's custom weapons; the bullets merely disintegrated as Vice's knives had. Vice threw bolts of silver-colored magic at it; they were absorbed.

"How the hell do we stop this thing!?" Matt said, desperately searching for something--anything--that might harm the creature.

It was drawing closer, steadily, without hurry. It oozed toward them, the sand blackening as it passed. Vice and Matt continued to strike at it with their ranged weapons, but it just absorbed them all. Vice was beginning to suspect that neither of them had anything that could kill this creature. He simply didn't know enough about it to figure out its weaknesses.

It was before them. Suddenly, without warning, an appendage shot out from it. The thing had formed a sort of blunt 'arm' from its body, and slammed it into Matt's head.

Matt screamed in pain as his mind boiled as though dipped in acid. He was burning, consumed by fire, melting, being torn apart, he was beyond pain entirely...

"Matt--Matt!"

A voice was calling him. The voice seemed familiar...or did it? It was a stranger's voice. But that was only to be expected--he didn't know anyone called Matt.

Vice caught Matt as he collapsed and frantically tried to wake him. But even the magic of the Last of Ancients wasn't enough.

The creature, meanwhile, turned its attention back to the Sunstone. Entering the temple, it reached out almost lovingly to caress the shining surface of the gem. With a gurgling sigh, the tower of sludge fell onto the polished facets.

Vice heard a sharp crack as the stone shattered. Tears fell from his face as he gathered all his energy for one last spell. He wasn't normally given to showing much emotion, like most Darklings, but these were dire times. Another defeat...another loss to the Overlord. Every day more Worlds fell, and every day there were less people left to fight.

The shards of the Sunstone exploded outwards, flying with lethal force into the desert that had so long housed them. Vice grasped Matt's arm and activated the gating device, fleeing from the destruction. There was nothing more he could do. He had failed.

Behind them, the gate closed on darkness. Night had come to Thraael at last...a night that had no end.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Deep in the fortress of the Overlord, First Lieutenant Gashiru knelt before the great Portal to the realm of his master. He rose and left the room, having paid his respects. It was time to fulfill the orders he had just received.

"Off again, Lieutenant?"

The title was pure mockery when spoken by the Oracle, and Gash knew why; he had allowed the One, the child of the prophecy, to escape. A slave rebellion had happened under his very nose, and he had failed to squelch it before many of the slaves escaped.

And yet he was not in disgrace. So feared and respected was Gash that the blame slid automatically onto others in the minds of the Chaos Soldiers. It seemed impossible that their Lieutenant, their mighty general, could fail.

The Oracle knew better, of course. He had always felt Gash to be weak. But the Overlord still trusted Gash with a most vital task, and naturally the Oracle, the other highest-ranking officer of the Army, was bitter.

"Yes, Oracle," Gash replied stiffly. "New intelligence reports indicate that it may have been located at last...and our master has sent me to find it."

"I hope _this_ task will be a success," the demon said with every appearance of courtesy. But Gash heard the unspoken message--that his last task had been a failure. He was right, and Gash knew it, but he also knew better than to rise to the bait.

"Indeed," was all Gash said. Without another word, he gated out.

He would find it. He would find it, and the Overlord's victory would be assured. That was what he wanted, what he had worked for all along. That was what he had sacrificed everything for...

...wasn't it?


End file.
